SOERABAIA…. The Capital City of East Java

Surabaya Airport......or known by the local as Bandar Udara Internasional Juanda

This time I have the chance to visit the Capital City of East Java as part of my working trip to Universitas Airlangga. When I arrived at Soerabaia or Surabaya airport on the 3^rd of February, it was already dark but the watch only showed 6 p.m. The time in Surabaya is 1 hour later than Kuala Lumpur but it received the sun about 2 hours earlier. The duration of flight from Kuala Lumpur to Surabaya was about 2 hours and 40 minutes. This was my first time in the island of Java. The name ‘Surabaya’ comes from two words that are ‘Soera’ and ‘Baia’ which mean ‘shark’ and ‘crocodile’. Maybe sometimes ago these two animals were abundantly found here…..I’m not really sure either this is true or otherwise.

Soera (Shark) and Baia (Crocodile) which give the name of the city, Surabaya

Surabaya cannot be easily compared to other places in Indonesia such as Bali or Jakarta which are popular in the eyes of the tourists. Through out the visit, I stayed at Garden Palace Hotel, one of the decent hotels in the city centre with room tariff between Rupiah 700 000 to 1 000 000 per night including breakfast.

The superior room of Garden Palace Hotel, rate between Rupiah 700 000 to 1 000 000 per night

The city centre is modern and can be quite congested especially in the rush hours. Although cars and taxis are common, motorcycles or ‘speda motor’ are everywhere on the road. It can be difficult to cross the road without the pedestrian bridge. To travel from one place to one place, it is best to take the taxi.

Statue of local warrior can be found all over the city center....and the municipal building (background)

The road in Surabaya can be considered as not that user friendly to the pedestrians

Motorcycles are every where

The Submarine monument.....close to the Garden Palace Hotel and a shopping mall, the Plaza Surabaya

The trishaw.....one of the popular mean of transportation in Surabaya

What to see in Surabaya? Ermmmmmm…… this can be difficult to answer.  I can only list a few with the help of the local students, for example The Tugu Pahlawan, Masjid Agung Al-Akbar, Surabaya Zoo, The House of Sampoerna, Suramadu Bridge and Madura Island. 

Very peaceful and green housing estate in Gubeng Jaya, Surabaya

The exterior of one of the local mosque

In the Tugu Pahlawan or the National War Memorial, you will learn the history of Surabaya people against the Dutch for their independent. There are several monuments or historical items to be seen here.

The main entrance to the monument

The statue of Soekarno and Hatta, the first Indonesia president and deputy president

Masjid Agung Al-Akbar is the new national mosque for Surabaya. The unique thing about this mosque is its 99 metres minaret with viewing platform. To travel up to the platform by lift, you only need to pay Rupiah 3 000 per person. Beware with the crowds as you may experience suffocation on the platform....hikhikhikhik

The 99 meters minaret with viewing platform

The interior and the gigantic dome

If you need more suffocation, then you should visit the House of Sampoerna. When I enter the museum, my nose was flooded with the smell of dry tobacco and cloves. This is actually the local cigarette museum, where you will learn some histories on the development of Sampoerna cigarette. In this museum also you can buy local souvenirs which are not related to cigarette. Ermmmm…I personally against cigarette smoking, do remember…smoking can increase your risk for cancers and other lung diseases.

The House of Sampoerna

One of the old case for cash deposit

Travelling to the Island of Madura via the Suramadu Bridge was an exciting experience. From the bridge you will see the Surabaya Port or Tandjung Perak. The name of the bridge is a combination of two words which are ‘SURA’baya and ‘MADU’ra. Just after the toll plaza on the site of Madura Island, you will see stretch of stalls on both side of the road selling local Madura souvenirs and batik. Here you should get the ‘Kuda Luping’ or the puppet horse, which is decorated with bright colourful lining.

The Suramadu Bridge.....a view for the city center of Surabaya

The colourful 'kuda luping' for home decoration

Souvenir stalls beside the road of the Island of Madura

When travel overseas the usual concern with many people is the local foods. What to try in Surabaya? White rice and ‘ayam penyet’ or the pounded chicken with hot sambal (fresh chilly paste) can be found in many restaurants and should be tried. Or if you prefer something soupy, you might want to try ‘rawon’ which is white rice with beef floss, spicy beef rendang, very hot sambal, soy sauce, young bean sprouts and flooded with beef soup. I gave both thumbs up for this rawon, cheap and superlicious.

Nasi Rawon Krengseng.....white rice with beef floss, beef rendang and tempe....will be flooded with beef soup and garnished with young beansprouts and very hot devilicious sambal

A street food saler......sealing soto noodle 

The rice crackers.....required to be deep fried before consumption

Local food carts on the street side.....selling 'bakso' (meat balls) and others, very cheap but you will required to have a strong stomach.

Surabaya is strongly-known for its countless modern shopping malls. It is very difficult to find shops or ‘toko’ that sale local product such as batik or souvenirs. Only several shops are specialised for these products, example of the popular one is Toko Mirota. Most of the taxi’s drivers can bring you to this place. Overall, Surabaya is a good place for full relaxation with low pace holiday.

The colourful Indonesian batik, in the from of sarung